Watch the New BMW M235i Racing Prototype Take a Hot Lap

The new 2014 BMW 2 Series is one of the upcoming products from BMW that gives us hope that maybe the brand hasn't completely given up on being the "ultimate driving machine" yet. This new video featuring a race-ready BMW M235i Racing prototype previews what BMW will offer its motorsports customers next year.

Though little in the way of details is available, the BMW M235i Racing is designed to give motorsports customers a cheaper way to get into racing, compared to the company's own FIA GT3-legal Z4 GT3. According to the video description, the M235i in Europe is priced at 59,500 Euros, plus tax (or around $82,000).

In the brief teaser video, we get to sample the M235i Racing's throaty exhaust note, and watch it rocket around a track. There's no official word on this prototype's powertrain, but the stock M235i utilizes a 3.0-liter turbocharged I-6 producing 322 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque. Power may not be up significantly, but given that the M235i Racing looks stripped, it's without a doubt faster than before. The I-6 looks to be mated to BMW's eight-speed automatic transmission. Lightly camo'd, the M235i Racing looks to have wider wheel arches with extra brake cooling.

The stock 2014 BMW M235i shouldn't be a slouch around a racetrack, either. BMW also released a clip of DTM driver Andy Priaulx hot-lapping the new 2 Series around Thruxton Race Circuit, where the 2 Series looks like it lives up to the 1 Series M it replaces.Check out the two vids below.